The Auditor: Rand Paul steps into Christie country

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, in March — a conference Gov. Chris Christie was famously not invited to. Paul was in New Jersey on Monday.Alex Wong/Getty Images

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul — a potential rival to Gov. Chris Christie in the 2016 Republican presidential primary — moved in on the governor’s turf last week.

Paul (R-Ky.) spoke at a private luncheon to about 30 Orthodox Jews on Monday at the Lakewood home of millionaire Richard Roberts.

“The only true democracy is one that is based on a people that are virtuous; and that’s what you’ve maintained through your traditions,” Paul told the attendees, according to an account in the Jewish Voice.

The conservative/libertarian Paul has been one of Christie’s most vocal critics in the GOP, slamming him for criticizing a National Rifle Association ad and House Republicans for holding up Hurricane Sandy aid.

“I think criticizing the Second Amendment movement and the over-the-top ‘give me my money’ stuff, ‘I want all $60 billion now or I’ll throw a tantrum,’ I don’t think that’s going to play well in the Republican primary,” Paul said on the “Laura Ingraham Show” in January.

Sergio Gor, a spokesman for Paul’s political action committee, told The Auditor the senator was invited by supporters to speak and did not raise any money at the event.

Roberts, the millionaire doctor and prolific Republican donor who hosted the event, said he first met Paul at the Republican National Convention last year. He said they disagreed on a lot of issues, but he found Paul “open-minded in that he was listening to what I was saying.”

Since then, he sponsored a trip Paul took to Israel along with 60 evangelical leaders from key swing states.

Roberts told The Auditor that, when talking 2016, Christie and Paul “both seem to be very genuine, honest, intelligent, authentic, real people with a sense of purpose and a generally intact moral outlook. But I do disagree with each of them on certain issues.”

Mike DuHaime, Christie’s political adviser, declined comment.

Codey to DiVincenzo: Take this endorsement and ...

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo may have endorsed Christie for re-election last week, but he told The Auditor that, without exception, he supports all the other Democrats running on the ticket — and he’s convinced they’ll retain their majority in the state Legislature.

So does that mean DiVincenzo thinks state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex), his nemesis — whom Republicans are aggressively targeting this year — will prevail? The same Codey who ripped into him for endorsing Christie?

The Auditor reached out to Codey to find out how he felt about DiVincenzo’s alleged endorsement.

“No thanks,” he said.

Lagana a lock for Wagner in Assembly race switch?

It looks as if Democrats this week will turn to Paramus Council President Joseph Lagana to replace three-term Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen) on the ballot for Assembly in a crucial race for the party.

Wagner announced last week — shortly after winning her primary — that she will not seek re-election for family reasons — leaving the 38th District’s Democratic incumbents with a hole on the ballot in one of the state’s most competitive legislative districts.

Paramus — which also is Wagner’s home town — is a swing town in the swing district. If tapped by the 38th District’s Democratic committee members when they meet Wednesday night, Lagana will run with incumbent state Sen. Robert Gordon and Assemblyman Tim Eustace (both D-Bergen). Republicans are challenging them with Fernando Alonso for Senate and Joseph Scarpa and Joan Fragala for Assembly.

“I’m like-minded with Connie Wagner, Tim Eustace and Bob Gordon,” Lagana, an attorney, told The Auditor. “I’m pro-environment, I believe in our workforce, our teachers and I believe in helping our veterans and citizens and providing whatever benefit I can to the citizens in the district.”

Only one other Democrat had thrown his name in to compete for the ballot spot as of Friday: Zachary Schrieber. He challenged Wagner and Eustace in the primary, getting just 5.4 percent of the vote.

Politics? Nah. He’s talkin’ baseball

While many lawmakers are big baseball fans, the national pastime is a family affair for Assemblyman Joseph Egan (D-Middlesex),

Egan’s son-in-law is future Hall-of-Famer Craig Biggio, who starred at Seton Hall University in the 1980s. And just last Saturday, Egan’s grandson, 18-year-old Cavan Biggio, was chosen in the 29th round in the Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

It turns out the young Biggio is packing his bags for South Bend, not Philly. He’ll be attending Notre Dame University and will play for the Fighting Irish, Egan told The Auditor.

Egan said his grandson, who plays second and third base, was expected to be drafted in a much higher round but “most of the teams knew early on that he was going to college.”

“He’s a first- or second-round draft pick,” Egan said.

Baseball America agrees: “Like his dad, Cavan excels at the plate. He’s one of the best pure hitters in his draft class, with tremendous feel, a smooth swing and a disciplined approach.”

The magazine also noted Cavan’s brother Connor is a reserve outfielder for Notre Dame.